An Epic Year for The Legend of Zelda

Share.

We called this "The Year of Zelda" from the start, and 2011 absolutely delivered.

By Lucas M. Thomas

We called this "The Year of Zelda" from the start, and 2011 absolutely delivered. With the 25th anniversary of the series kicking things off early on and an avalanche of new game releases, classic game re-releases and a variety of other events helping fans celebrate everything Hyrule, these past 12 months have been perhaps the best time to be a Zelda fan in the history of the franchise.

And if you need a little reminder about why this year's been so incredible for the series, here's a handy little infographic to round up a baker's dozen of 2011's biggest Zelda happenings:

Click for a larger version.

Can you believe that fully seven different Zelda games launched this year? (And over half of them were free?) It's been an incredible 2011 indeed.

It's almost sad to see this year come to an end, so rich has it been for followers of the Zelda universe -- but we know that 2012 will keep the momentum rolling as news breaks from Nintendo on where Zelda will end up next.

Thanks for a great year, Nintendo. Sincerely, The Zelda Fans

Lucas M. Thomas is a long-time freelancer for the IGN Nintendo team, a new dad and a Zelda fan who sometimes feels the urge to fire up Photoshop and put together big infographics about the series. You can follow him on MyIGN and Twitter.